Home Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos exposure refers to the inhalation or ingestion of airborne asbestos fibers. There are multiple activities which can release asbestos fibers in the air and thereby, exposure can happen in numerous settings – including at home. As fibers are microscopic, people may be unaware that they were exposed to asbestos in certain cases, especially since this mineral occurs naturally in plenty of geographic regions across the world. However, asbestos is a known human carcinogen. While exposure does not result in immediate symptoms, it can lead to the development of serious diseases over the years.

Our bodies are not designed to eliminate asbestos. Thus, after you breathe in or swallow toxic fibers, they will lodge in your lung tissue or inside your digestive system forever. The rough texture of asbestos fibers, as well as their needle-like shape, makes their natural elimination impossible, although some may be coughed up occasionally. Moreover, fibers can also travel through the body, which – depending on the organ they migrate to – may result in kidney cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer or bladder cancer. These asbestos fibers can gradually produce severe inflammation and tissue scarring, which might subsequently give way to a disease. However, due to their long latency period, asbestos-related diseases only occur after 15 to 50 years of first exposure.

The following asbestos-containing products can be found in dwellings built before 1980:

This list is by no means exhaustive, as asbestos would lurk in over 5,000 consumer products during the last century. However, they are the most common. To find out more about household asbestos exposure, how to identify potentially dangerous products, as well as how you can avoid toxic exposure, please read our free, downloadable guide. It also includes a list of certified asbestos testing companies for each U.S. state, which will come in handy in the event you need to have hazardous materials removed from your home.

Types of Asbestos Exposure

Occupational exposure is accountable for the vast majority of asbestos-related conditions. Approximately 20% of the individuals with a history of workplace asbestos exposure will develop a disease. In nearly half of the cases, this disease is going to be mesothelioma, the most aggressive form of cancer asbestos can cause. People who were in contact with asbestos on the job are most likely to become ill because the concentration of toxic fibers in the air they would regularly breathe was extremely high, as well as because their exposure would generally extend over several years.

Surprisingly, asbestos exposure can also happen at home. As building materials were commonly manufactured with asbestos, construction companies would accordingly employ asbestos-containing products for their projects. Nowadays, millions of old buildings across the U.S. have asbestos-containing materials in their structure, which may pose a considerable threat to the health of inhabitants over time.

Secondary asbestos exposure takes place when one inhales or ingests toxic fibers without being in direct contact with the source of exposure. As the harmful effects of exposure were not officially recognized until 1973, people who handled asbestos-containing products on the job were not required by employers to wear protective equipment or to change their clothes at the end of their shift. Consequently, not only would they inhale astounding amounts of carcinogenic fibers, but they would also carry asbestos dust home, involuntarily putting their family members’ health at risk.

Is Asbestos Exposure Always Dangerous?

The consensus, as expressed by multiple U.S. federal agencies and worldwide health organizations, is that there is no safe asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a carcinogenic mineral which can cause terrible diseases, regardless of the source of exposure. However, there are severalfactors which may increase the risk of developing a disease, as follows:

the duration of exposure – studies suggest that the longer one was in contact with asbestos, the more likely they are to be diagnosed with a related illness

the amount of asbestos fibers in the body – it is also believed that if a person is exposed to a high concentration of airborne asbestos, their risk of developing a disease increases, as they will inhale a larger amount of toxic fibers

the type of asbestos – there are conflicting opinions in this respect, as while some believe chrysotile asbestos is the most dangerous, others argue that the minerals in the amphibole group are more hazardous due to their needle-like shape

smoking – smokers with a history of asbestos exposure are between 50 and 90 times more susceptible to developing lung cancer than non-smokers who were exposed to asbestos

preexistent pulmonary disease – asbestos-related diseases are more likely to occur in individuals who suffer from a pulmonary condition, since their lungs are already weakened

a germline mutation in BAP1 – it was found that this genetic mutation increases one’s chances of developing mesothelioma significantly, which partially explains why only a small portion of people exposed to asbestos are diagnosed with this form of cancer

Considering the toxicity of asbestos, you should always be cautious in this respect – even if there is only a slight possibility of exposure. Although people with a history of heavy and prolonged exposure are at highest risk, there have been situations in which individuals who had been in contact with asbestos on only one occasion developed